Incubator.



PATENTED JULY 17, 41906.

G. M. CURTIS. INCUBATR. APPLICATION FILED HAY 25. 1905,

UNITED STATES verrast orties.

(iRr-lNT A\l. (fl'lt'llS. OF BL'FFLU', NEW YORK. SSlHNOh l() 4. l'llll'lh' INCUBATOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 17, 1906.

Application filed May 25.1905. Serial No. 262,164.

Beit known that l, GRANT M. t`rn'r1s, a citizen of the lnited `States, and a resident ol' 'Bull`alo, in the county of'lirie and State ol' New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in lncubators, of which the following is a ispecilication.

'This invention relates to incubators; and it consists in the mechanism and improvements hereinafter described and claimed.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is a vertical section of an incubator embodying this invention, taken on the line l 1 of Fig. 2; and Fig. 2 is a like vertical section on the line 2, 2 of Fig. 1.

'The incubator consists of a case havingr an insulated top 1 and insulated sides 2, back 3, and front l. ln 'the front of the incubator case is a door, haring double glass panels for insulation and which may be called the "egg-chamber door. door in the lower part ol the incubator-casing opening into the cavity beneath` that portion into which the door 5 opens. The door 6 may be called the "chiek-doorl The bot tom ol th l incubator consists of a door 7,

having ve tilation-openings 8 therein, hinged' at 9 on one side and fastened by suitable` means on the other side to close the aperture in which the door 7 lits.. One or more slides 10, running in guides, 11', are. provided with openings 12., which can register' with the o )enings S. Setting the ventilating slide or s des l()7 therefore, 'oontrols the communication between theinterior of the incubator and the exterior air through the. openings and 12.

Above tlwliottom door 7 is a porous diaphragm 13; ol` lsuitable porous material, such as felt or burlap or any other material that will prevent drafts but permit slow movement oi air through it. The diaphragm 13 is `lasteuedV on a trame 14, which rests upon cleats-15in the interior of. the incubator and' is removable through the bottom or through the chick-door G, as may be found conveniel'i.

An outlet for air from the egg-chamber is provided beneath. the egg-chamber in both the door 7 itseltl and in the openings Above .the diaphragm 13 is a removable drawer lt), which may have a porous bottom. The preferred bottbm for this drawer The casing has also a.

yis composed ol' a layer of coarse iabric 1T, such as coarse bui-lap, and underneath a bottom lo' ol' wire-netting. 'lhis drawer lo rests on supports 19 within the incubator and is adapted to receive the chicks which may [all into it.

Above the drawer 16 is the egg drawer or tray 20, having a double inclined bottom 2l, preferably made of wire-netting.

At the front of the egg-tray is a removable section 22, extending entirely across the front of the tray and formed ol a piece ol` wire-netting fastened upon a frame 23, which rests upon supports 24 in the frame of the tray 2l). When the tray 23 is removed, there is an opening across the front of the egg-tray for a purpose hereinafter described.

Immediately below the opening thus produced when the tray is in place in the incuacross theincubator-space, so that any chick that falls through the opening caused the removal oll the trame 23 shall fall upon-the shelf 25 and thence into the chick drawer or tray 16. Only one such shelf is shown; but more than one may of course be employed, the purpose ol' the shelf being that the chick may not l'all a distance so great as to injure it.

Above the egg-tray 2() is a porous diaphragm 26, preferably' made of a sheet oil muslin. rl`he sheet of muslin is fastened to the rabbetcd fraine 2T, which tits under the rabbeted side pieces 2h. 'The frame 27 at the back lits between two cleats 2S) and 3() and up against a cleat 5l at the iront. and it is held against the latter cleat by any suitable catch, such` as a turn-button 32. 'The diaphragm may thus be easily removed from the incubator b v unfastening the turn-button. Of course other material than muslin maybe employed.

Felt or any other suitable porous material in one or more layers may take the place of any ol' the diaphragms in the present inouk ance to the passage oll air.

Beneath the diaphragm 2G is the eggchamber 33 and above said diaphragm is the heating or radiating chamber 34. nto this heating or radiating'chan'iber extends the heat-delivery tube 35 of an air-heater, and in said chaniber are also the bafileeplates 3G, held vsuitably in place and at an angle with bator is a stationary shelf 25, vextending bator provided there is not too great resist- IOO each other similar to that of an ordinary ridge-roof, but leaving a space immediately over the heat-delivery tube 31 and a space between the lower edge ot' cach baHle-plate and the said incubator, so that air may cir-` culate through the space at the highest point of the baffle-plates and also throuh the spaces between thc edges of the batik-plates and the sides ofthe incubator.

Within the egg-chamber 33 is the thermost at or regulator 37, consisting of suitable expansion devices in the egg-chamber, a tube 38 extending up through the heating-chamber to form a communication with the outer air, and a rod 39 within said tube, said rod connecting said expansion devices with a damper arm or lever 40, actuatinflr a damper 41. Ventilation-tubes 42 of suita )le number extend through the top of the incubator and downward into the egg-chamber 33 through the heating-chamber. The Ventilating-tubes 42 are closed or opened to such degree as may be desired by sliding plates or dampers 43 on the top of the incubator. Other ventilation 'tubes 44 extend through the side walls of the incubator, usually near the front thereof, and are also controlled by sliding dampers 45, whereby the said ,ventilationtubes 44 may be opened or closed to such degrec asmay be desired.

A heater 46 is provided and may be of the..

following construction: Aninner combustiontube 47 forms the chimney for a lamp 48. The said inner tube 47 is closed at the top and has a lateral tubular connection 49 wit an outer tube 50, which opens downward .and is closed at the top. Around the tube 47 and between it and the outer tube 5() is the hot-air tube 51, that is open at the top and at the bottom and is connected near the top with the heat-delivery tube 35 and is connected near the bottom with a tube 52, leading to the space underneath the lower diaphragm 13. The damper 41 controls and may close the topof the tube 51. When 4said damper is raised, the air in the tube 51, heated by contact with the tube 47, rises out through the orifice controlled by the damper. When the damper is down or is raised only slightly, hot air will pour into the heating chsvnber' 34 through the heat-dclivery pipe 35, down through the diaphragm 26, the eggchamber 3S, the diaphragm- 13, and thence out through the tube 52. The tube 52 constitutes an outlet for air beneath the eggchamber. A circulation is thus created, whereby the freshly-heated air is constantly passed through the egg-chamber- In the normal ruiming of the incubator the damper 41 is slightly raised, so that some of the hot air constantly passes out through the damper-orifice and the remainder passes into the heat-dclivery tube 35, while fresh air is constantly passing into the bottom of the tube 51, thus renewing the air that is fed into eggchamberlt is probably never found that a'll the 'eggs origina ly placed in the egg-tray fora hatch 'are fertile, and consequently a certain pro portion of the eggs so placed in the egg-tray lor a particular hatch have to be discarded when sufficient time has passed to determine whether the eggs were fertile. T he unfertile eggs are rejected, thus making an empty space in the egg-tray. It is desirable that t ie egg-trays should be filled to theirpmaximum capacity when the hatch is irst started, and it is also desirable when the hatch'is cuding and the chicks are leavin(r the shells that there should be space at the iiont of the eggtray nearest the light, toward which the chicks naturally move", throughwhich they may pass into a chick-drawer. In the present device the removal of the frame 23 provides this capability in the machine. i

ln the normal runnin of the machine't/h'c airtubes 42 are closed; ut when the chicks are hatching these tubes are opened, andyif need be,.the bottom ventilation-holes 8 are` opened to the air, or, if need be, the bottom itself may be 1unfastened and dropped, so that air may pass up into the lchick-compartment and ,through the egg tray when the chicks are coming out. So, too, where the maximum of ven ilation i` required the slides may be op ned to tl e proper degree in order to promet, the pass, ge of air above the chick-drawer ,ndwithout direct draft through its bottom"l This incubator provides for not only the minimum ventilation required for theordi nary hatching of eggs under conditions of average external moisture and external tem.

perature, but also provides for means of regulating the incubator so that it is capable of use in damp hot climates, in d cold vclimates, in dry hot climates, or col( damp climates. This capacity is provided by what may be called the normal and slow transfusion of air through it when the ventilation-tubes 42 and 44 are closed and the botthe IDO

IIC)

tom, with its Ventilation-holes 8, is closed and the ability to regulate the incubator in accordance with the climate where it may be operated by opening or closing the various ventilation-ducts, as the conditions may require.l I

The chick tray or drawer as above.described has a doube bottom composed of an upper layer of a crous fabric, such as bur-' lap, and a lower ayer of an open-Work support forA the fabric, consisting in the present case of wire-netting- What I claim ifs- 1. In an incubator, a heating-chamber, an

egg-chamber beneath the heating-chamber having its top and bottom Walls of` porous material, a heater for discharging heated air ses, 14e l l into said heating-chamber whereby the heated air passes ovrnward through the eggchamber, an cutletfor air beneath the eggchaniber, a Ventilating-tube passing upward from said cgb-chamber through the heatingg chambfer to the outer air, and a damper or said tube.

2. In an incubator, a heating-chamber, an egg-chamber beneath the'I heating-chamber having its top and bottom walls of porous material, a heater for discharging heated air in to said heating-chamber whereby the heated air passes downward 'through thel eggcha'mber, an outlet for air beneath the eggchamber, an egg-tray in said egg-chamber, a Ventilating-tube such as' 44,45, connecting said egg-chamber above said bottom porous Wall with theou ter air for delivering unheated air into said incubator, and a damper for said tube.

3. In an incubator, a case, a heating-chamber thereiiran egg-chamber therein beneath the heating-chamber having its top and bottoni walls of porous material, a heater for dischargin heated air into said heatingchaniber Wgiiereby the. heated air passes downward through the Vegg-Chamber, an outlet for the heated air beneath the egg-chamber, a removable bottoni for said casehaving a perforation therethrough, and a damper for the perforation.

4. In an incubator, a heating-chamber, an egg-chamber beneath the heating-chamber having its top and bottoni Walls of porous material, a heater for discharging heatedl air into said heating-chamber whereby the heated air passes ownward through the eggcha'mber, an outlet for air beneath the eggehaniber, a Ventilating-tube passing upward from said egg-chamber throu h the heatingchainber to the outer air, a amper for said tube, an egg-tray in said egg-chamber, aventilat-ing-tube connecting said chamber beneath the egg-trays with the outer air, and a damper for said tube.

5.V In an incubator, a heating-chamber, an egg-chamber beneath the heating-chamber having its-top and bottom Walls of porous material, a heater for discharging heated air t into said heating-chamber whereby the heated air passes downward through the eggehamber, an outlet for air beneath the eggi chamber, a Ventilating-tube passing upward I fronrsaid egg-chamber through the heatingchamber to the outer air, a damper for said tule, an egg-tray in said egg-chamber, aventilating-tube connecting said chamber beneath the egg-trays with the outer air, adamper l'or said tube, a perforated opening bottoni iorsaid incubator, and a damper for the perforation.'

(i. ln an incubator, a heating-chamber, an egg-chamber beneath the heating-chamber having its top and bottom walls of porous l, into said heating-chamber \\'liereb \r` the heatl ed air passes downward through the, eggchamber, an outlet for air ben-seth the eggchamber, an egg-trav in said egg-chamber, a Ventilating-tube connect ing said chamber bei nenth the egg-tray with the outer air, a damper for said tube, a peri'orated opening bottom Itor said incubator, andl a damper ior the perforation.

T. In an incubator, a heating-chamber, an egg-chamber beneath the heating-chamber having its top and bottom walls of porous materiah a heater for discharging heated air into said heating-chamber whereby the heated air passes dovmward through the eggchamber, an outlet for air beneath the eggchamber, a Ventilating-tube passing upward from said egg-chamber through the heatingcharnber to the outer air, a damper for said tube, an egg-tray in said egg-chamber, a Ventilating-tube connecting said chamber beneath the egg-tray with the outer air, a damper for said tube, a perforated bottom for said incubator and a damper for the perforation.

8. In an incubator having an egg-chamber', an egg-tray therein, a chick-space below said tiene-ry support on which chicksinay rest sitnate between the egg-tray and the bottom of area. than t 1e bottom o lthe chick-s ace.

9. In an incubator having an egg-c amber, an egg-tray therein, a chick-space below said chicks may rest situate between the egg-tray and the bottom of the chick-space, said shelf chic -space.`

10. In an incubator, an egg-tray having a bottom formed of netting a portion of which bottoni is detached and is removable, supports for said egg-tray in the incubator, and

a chick-space beneath said egg-tray;

portion of its bottom removable, supports for said egg-tra)T in the incubator, a. chick-space beneath said egg-tray,-and a shelf beneath the space left by the removable portion -ot the egg-tray whereon chicks may fall from the egg-tray and thence to the bottom of the chick-s ace.

12. n an incubator, an egg-chamber having a top of porous material, an egg-tratT in said egg-chamber, a sliding chick-drawer beneath the egg-tr@Y having its bottom ,i porous material, means for discharging heated air into said egg-chamber,through its porous top, and an outlet for the heated air beneath the chick-drawer.

13. In an incubator, an egg-chamber having a top of porous material, an egg-tray in said egg-chamber, and a chick-trav beneath the egg-tray having 'a double' bottom formed material, a heater for discharging heated air i of an upper layer otI porous fabric and a lower egg-tray, and a substantially horizontal sta-` the chick-s ace, said sugport being smaller in' egg-tray, and a stationary shelf upon which` being smaller in area than the bottom of the 11. In an incubator, an egg-tray having a IOO -luyer uonsisting of im operi-Work support for `heating means, und n damper for said tube.

' 15. In zin incubator, a case, mi egg-Chmnber therein having a bottom of porous material, means for heating said egg-chamber, e removable bottom' forsaid case y'nvin a perforation therethrough, and a damper for said perforation.

GRANT M. CURTIS. Witnesses:

M. C. ISLER,

RoBT. H. ESSEX. 

